Catgut ligature and suture and method of preparing same.



No. 7u|,su|. Patented June .3, 1902.

- c. E. PARKER.

CATGUT LIGATURE AND SUTUBE AND METHOD OF PREPARING 'I'H SAME.

(Application filed Apr. 2, 1900.) (No Model.)

li iiimi i fiiiiiiili ifl aim - UNITED STATES CHARLES E. PARKER, OFORANGE, NE\V JERSEY.

CATGUT LIGATURE AND SUTURE AND METHOD OF PREPARING SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 701,501, dated June 3,1902.

Application filed April 2. 1900.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatI, CHARLES E. PARKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Catgut Ligatures and Suturesand Method of Preparing the Same and in Packages Thereof for Applyingsaid Method of Preparation, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the preparation of the catgut and itssterilization by the action of steam, hot water, and other fluids; andthe objects of my invention are, first, to overcome the tendency ofthese agents to cause swelling and longitudinal contraction of thecatgut; second, to diminishits elasticity or capacity for stretching;third, to prevent impairment of its tensile strength, and, fourth, tofacilitate the extemporaneous sterilization of the catgut by thesurgeonand to preserve the sterilized eatgut from accidental contami nation. Iattain the first three of these objects by a general method ofsterilization under tension and'all of them by the use of an expansiblespool or reel upon which the catgut is wound and secured, the wholebeing inclosed withina container permeable to sterilizing fluids, butnot to dust. I apply this principle by means of the package shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows an elevation of anexpansible spool or reel. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, and Fig. 3 is asection on the line A B. Fig. 4 is a similar section of a spool woundwith catgut, and Fig. 5 is a plan of the same. Fig. 6 is a plan ofanother form of expansible spool. Fig. 7 shows a complete package in itswrapper or container.

Absorbable surgical ligatures, as catgut and tendon, possess the greatadvantage over nonabsorbable ligaturessuch as silk, silkwormgut,&c.-that when sterile they do not act as foreign bodies in the tissues,causing irritation and eventually being discharged through a sinus, butare gradually absorbed or incorporated. Most effectual sterilizingprocesses, however,are inapplicable to catgut on account of impairingits strength.

It has been discovered that by the action of formaldehyde catgut may betoughened, so that to a considerable degree it resists thedisintegrating action of boiling water, which next to fire is the mosteffective disinfectant.

Ligatures are prepared by macerating them either loose on wound upon anon-expansible frame in formaldehyde solution of two to ten per cent.strength for twenty-four hours or more, washing out the formaldehyde bytreatment with running water and drying. They may then be sterilized bysteam or boiling water. Thus treated the hot water causes the catgut tobecome elastic, elongating under tension, but contracting,if permitted,to much less than its original length and swelling greatly.

I have discovered that if during the treatment with hot water or steamthe catgut be maintained under stronglongitudinal tension by anysuitable means, as the expansion of an expansible frame or reel uponwhich it may be wound and secured, it not only acquires no tendency tokink, as would result if the coils were free, but the swelling andelasticity or extensibility are minimized, and the material is dense,firm, pliable, and strong, and of superior utility.

For the purpose of maintaining tension during the sterilization variousexpedients will readily suggest themselves. Therefore I do not desire tobe restricted to the particular method herein described, which, however,has the advantage that it permits the ligature to be sterilized withinthe closed container or wrapper. in which it is to be preserved untilneeded for use. p

The catgut suitably prepared to endure the sterilizing action of steam,boiling water, or aqueous solutions is wound and secured upon anexpansible spool or reel. The spool may have various forms, and theexpansion.

may be produced in Various ways. Therefore I do not desire to berestricted to the particular forms of spool here described. I prefer toutilize the expansion with heat and moisture of a wooden spool.

Figs. 1, 2, and 3 show awooden spool having its axis parallel to thegrain of the wood. At 0 one of the flanges of the spool is notched downto the bottom of the circumferential groove F, and a diagonal hole D Eis bored from the end of the spool at an intermediate point D on theradius passing through the notch O. A suitable amount of catgut preparedfor sterilizing is tightly wound on the spoolin the groove F, both endsbeing brought out through the notch O, inserted through the hole D E,and drawn tight. The ends are then secured by crushing in the Wood uponthe hole D E by a'lolow upon a punch applied at G, Figs. A and 5. Fig. 6shows a different spool, preferably of metal, consisting ofcircumferentiallygrooved arcs I and 1, provided, respectively, with thepin J and sleeve K, permitting a parallel approach of the two arcs andcarrying a spiral spring L to keep them elastically separated. The arcshaving been pressed together, the ligature is wound in thecircumferential groove and secured by binding the ends to adjacent coilsof the ligature, and the arcs are then released. The spiral springproduces the required tension upon the ligature. The spool and ligaturethus prepared are inclosed in a wrapping or container of paper orsimilar material which is permeable to sterilizing fluids, but willexclude dust or any solid carrier of infection, and suitably secured bya band M or otherwise. The whole package is then ready to be subjectedto the sterilizing action of steam, hot water, or aqueous solutions inthe usual manner, after which it may be dried, and so preserved or keptin an antiseptic solution if not required for immediate use.

I prefer the above-described method of securing the ligature to thewooden spool, because the former may be conveniently detached from thespool by cutting the portion of the ends accessible at D without dangerof injury to the remainder of the ligature. I do not, however, desire tobe restricted to this method. The ends may be secured in other waysrelatively to each other to maintain the tension produced by theexpansion of the spool. They may be secured directly to each other, asby tying, or they may be secured to or by other means, as by bindingthem with a loop of catgut or string to adjacent coils of the ligatureor by inserting them through a hole or holes in the spool only largeenough to receive them. The first effect of the sterilization process isto cause the free extreme end of the ligature to swell greatly andbecome incapable of retraction under the tension produced.

I claim as my invention- 1. As an article of manufacture, a catgutligature wound upon an expansible spool, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

2. As an article of manufacture, a sterilizing ligature-package.consisting of a catgut ligature disposed upon, an expansible spool bywinding, and relatively securing its ends to maintain tension,substantially as described.

3. As an article of manufacture a sterilizing ligature-packageconsisting of a catgut ligature disposed upon an expansible spool bywinding, and relatively securing its ends to produce extension, andinclosed in a container permeable to sterilizing fluids, substantiallyas described.

4.. The method of treating a catgut ligature consisting in maintainingit underlongitudinal tension while subjecting it to the action of asterilizing fluid, substantially as described.

5. As an article of manufacture, a sterilized ligature-packageconsisting of a catgut ligature disposed upon an expansible spool byWinding, and securing its ends relatively to produceextension,substantially as described.

6. As an article of manufacture a sterilized ligature-package consistingof a catgut ligature disposed upon an expansible spool by.

winding, and securing its ends relatively to produce extension, andinclosed in a container permeable to sterilizing fluids, sub stantiallyas described.

CHAS. E. PARKER. WVitnesses:

LINDsAv DEB. LITTLE, M. J. PARKER.

